U.N. criticizes Iraq's Kurdistan on press freedom

By Yara Bayoumy

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Journalists in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region face arrest and harassment for reporting on government corruption and poor public services, the United Nations said in a human rights report on Wednesday.

The United Nations also criticized Kurdish officials for failing to tackle frequent cases of "honor killings" of women and said hundreds of detainees in Kurdish prisons were being held without charge.

Kurds promote Kurdistan as one corner of Iraq that is relatively stable, in contrast to the rest of the country that is engulfed in sectarian violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunnis. Drawing on that image, Kurdistan plans to build a $400 million "media city" for international organizations.

While most journalists' deaths in Iraq took place in Baghdad, the human rights report on Iraq said most arrests of journalists it recorded between January and March were carried out by the Kurdish security forces.

"The (Kurdish) authorities continued to subject journalists to harassment, arrest and legal actions for their reporting on government corruption, poor public services or other issues of public interest," the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said.

Dindar Zebari, the Kurdish regional government's United Nations coordinator, criticized the report saying it had numerous "fallacies" but said the Kurdish administration was aware of human rights violations.

Referring to journalists' arrests, Zebari said: "What happens is that legal procedures are followed against some who overstep the standards of the journalism profession."

He said the government was working to enact new laws on women's and children's rights.

HONOUR KILLINGS

Women's rights to life and personal security remained a "serious concern" in the Kurdish provinces of Arbil, Dahuk and Sulaimaniya given the high incidence of "honor killings and other abuses against women," UNAMI said in its report.

"Between January and March, UNAMI received information on some 40 cases of alleged honor crimes ... where young women reportedly died from 'accidental burns' at their homes or were killed by family members for suspected 'immoral' conduct."

It said it continually received reports about domestic and communal violence which were largely ignored by the Kurdish authorities.

Zebari said the honor killings were a phenomenon of Kurdish tribal society. It was "difficult to impose tough measures easily".

The United Nations said it was also concerned about arbitrary detentions by Kurdish authorities. Hundreds of detainees have been held for long periods without charge or without being referred to an investigative judge, it said.

The report said UNAMI had received allegations of torture or ill-treatment of detainees at government detention centers.